death; to sorrow and defilement? Wife and children, men and women slaves,
goats and sheep, fowl and pigs, elephants, cattle, horses, and mares, gold and
silver: these acquisitions are subject to birth, aging, sickness, and death; to
sorrowanddefilement;andonewhoistiedtothesethings,infatuatedwiththem,
and utterly absorbed in them, being himself subject to birth ... to sorrow and
defilement,seekswhatitalsosubjecttobirth...tosorrowanddefilement.
10
12. “And what is the noble search? Here someone being himself subjectto
birth,havingunderstoodthedangerinwhatissubjecttobirth,seekstheunborn
supremesecurityfrombondage,Nibbāna;beinghimselfsubjecttoaging,having
understoodthedangerinwhatissubjecttoaging,heseekstheunagingsupreme
security from bondage, Nibbāna; being himself subject to sickness, having
understood the danger in what is subject to sickness, he seeks the unailing
supremesecurityfrombondage,Nibbāna;beinghimselfsubjecttodeath,having
understoodthedangerinwhatissubjecttodeath,heseeksthedeathlesssupreme
security from bondage, Nibbāna; being himself subject to sorrow, having
understood the danger in what is subject to sorrow, he seeks the sorrowless
supremesecurityfrombondage,Nibbāna;beinghimselfsubject to defilement,
having understood the danger in what is subject to defilement, he seeks the
undefiledsupremesecurityfrombondage,Nibbāna.Thisisthenoblesearch.
13.“Monks,beforemyenlightenment,whileIwasstillonlyanunenlightened
bodhisatta,Itoo,beingmyselfsubjecttobirth,soughtwhatwasalsosubjectto
birth;beingmyselfsubjecttoaging,sickness,death,sorrow,anddefilement,I
soughtwhatwasalsosubjecttoaging,sickness,death,sorrow,anddefilement.
ThenIconsideredthus:‘Why,beingmyselfsubjecttobirth,doIseekwhatis
also subject to birth? Why, being myself subject to aging, sickness, death,
sorrow,anddefilement,doIseekwhatisalsosubjecttoaging,sickness,death,
sorrow, and defilement? Suppose that, being myself subject to birth, having
understood the danger in what is subject to birth, I seek the unborn supreme
security from bondage, Nibbāna. Suppose that, being myself subject to aging,
sickness,death,sorrow,anddefilement,havingunderstoodthedangerinwhatis
subject to aging, sickness, death, sorrow, and defilement, I seek the unaging,
unailing, deathless, sorrowless, and undefiled supreme security from bondage,
Nibbāna.’
14. “Later, while still young, a black-haired young man endowed with the
blessing of youth, in the prime of life, though my mother and father wished
otherwiseandweptwithtearfulfaces,Ishavedoffmyhairandbeard,putonthe